Improve the SEO of your existing website and get real ROI

Your website has cost you money. But is it an asset? If it's not delivering sales, enquiries or raising awareness of your brand, it's not delivering a
return on investment. If you haven't considered the search engine optimisation (SEO) of your site previously, or haven't revisited it in a while, you're
missing an opportunity to deliver on your business goals.

Visibility and relevance – the secret to ROI

The path to increasing ROI from your site isn't through adding flashier functionality or cooler design – it's by increasing its visibility and relevance.
You can easily achieve this with your existing site and a bit of effort.

Improving the search visibility of your site through search engine optimisation (SEO) will drive more traffic. More traffic means more people converting
to sales, enquiries or awareness. But that's not the end of it. Making sure your site appears relevant from the second users land will keep people
on site and increase engagement. This will not only improve your conversion rate (and ROI), but also helps your site to rank more highly.

4 simple steps to increased site visibility

SEO is often considered a dark art, and it's true that there are some complex elements. However, getting the basics right can have a big impact on the
visibility.

This can take some effort, but taking these few steps will help your website climb up the rankings and deliver real benefits to your business.

Start with keywords

Finding relevant keywords is the starting point to making your site rank higher in
search engines. You need to think about the terms that your users are plugging in to search engines to find products and services like yours.

But keyword relevance isn't the only consideration. You also need to take into account search volume and competition. Search volume is the figure that
shows roughly how many monthly searches each term gets. The higher the number, the more potential visitors it could send to your site. Your competitors
will also be targeting these keywords, and if they're established it can be difficult to battle your way to the top. Looking at the 'long tail' – those
searches that are less common, but make up a significant proportion of search traffic – can be a key to boosting your visibility. These long-tail keywords
are less popular, but can still attract decent traffic. The competition for these terms, however, is significantly lower. This gives you a much better
chance of ranking highly.

How to use your keywords

The keywords you identify through your research should be included in your page title, URL and on-page content. Focus on one (or two at a push) phrases
per page for maximum impact. Search engines are sophisticated, so don't stuff them in. Your content is for humans so remember this as you write.

Where do I start?

There are many online services that can help you with your keyword research. Here are a few to get started with:

keywordtool.io is a free service that can give you insights into what your users are searching for.

KeywordSh*tter is a basic (and colourfully named) free tool for searching long-tail keywords.
It can suggest lower competition, alternative phrases for you to target.

Make your website readable by search engines

Search engines get smarter every day. But they still don't truly understand the content of your website. You can fix this by using standardised code in
the background – schema markup – that helps search engines understand what's on your site.

What is schema markup?

Schema markup is a widely recognised 'language' that's used to give meaning to different content and data on your site. It allows you to tell search engines
that an address is an address, highlight what content relates to products, or indicate an event. This structured data uses a format that is agreed
and accepted across the web, so adding it to your site can have wide-ranging benefits.

Where do I start?

If you know your way around your content management system, and HTML doesn't terrify you, you can add structured data yourself. There are a number of resources
that can help you to get it right:

Google's Structured Data Markup Helper is a free tool that gives you a visual
interface for tagging up your pages. All you need to do is choose your data type, select an element on the page then click on the element that describes
it.

Schema.org is a reference that provides the full list of properties that can be used to mark up your
content. It's pretty dense, but can be useful for getting your markup just right.

Tell search engines about your business

The major search engines have their own business directories that link with their
search and map offerings. By submitting your site to these and providing accurate, up to date information you will increase your search rankings as
well as making it easier for clients to find your business. For businesses that have a physical location that clients visit, such as a shop, office
or studio, this is even more important.

Typically, you just fill in an online form to register your business. To check that the information is correct, search engines will ask you to verify your
data. This might mean waiting for code to arrive via a postcard, phone call or other means that you have to enter before your listing is approved.

Where do I start?

The main search engines each have their own interface for adding your business information. Here's two to get started with:

Google My Business the search giant's business directory is one of the most widely
used and is a great place to start. It's free to use, but you will need to register for a free Google account.

Bing places for business is one of Google's main competitors. It works in much the same way.
Registering for both will help you to hit over 95% of UK searchers1.

Register for business directories

Adding your business information to online directories – digital versions of the old Yellow Pages – is another way you can give your website a boost. These
listings provide another route in for your customers and add to the number of external sites linking to yours, which can boost its visibility. Some
directories can be more harm than good to your rankings though, so it pays to be cautious.

If your business is established, it's possible that you already have a presence in some of these directories. However, this data can be inaccurate and
this can hurt your search engine rankings.

Where do I start?

Many of the old-school printed directories, such as the Yellow Pages, have moved online. But there are a wealth of online only directories, often providing
better value. Finding the right ones can be tricky, so using a service that allows you to manage your listings across multiple sites is a good place
to start.

BrightLocal is a citation building service that works well with UK directories. It allows you
to see where your business is already listed, highlights inconsistencies and can even push corrections through to directories from the dashboard.

If your business is niche, there may be specific directories for the products or services you offer. A quick search will often bring these up. Similarly,
if you are a member of any professional bodies, these may have listings where your business can be featured.

Don't forget what happens when users land on your site

Getting clients
to visit your site is just the start. Once they are there we need them to convert to deliver maximum ROI. Tweaking your pages so that they are relevant
and have clear calls to action will help you to do this. Making your pages relevant will encourage users to spend more time on the page. This increased
engagement and reduced bounce rate will reflect positively on your search rankings, but also improve your conversion rate. In turn, this can boost
your bottom line, providing the ROI you need from your website.

Make your pages relevant

Think about the search terms you've optimised the page for – they need to be reflected on the page so that users know they have reached the right place.
Use clear headings to indicate this. Your main heading (also known as your H1 doesn't necessarily have to include your keywords, but it should be clear
that the content of the page is related.

Make sure your content has value and is well structured using subheadings, bulleted lists and paragraphs to break up text. This helps to encourage engagement,

Include clear calls to action

Once you've got your users to your site, it's important to get them to do something. If you want users to buy something, call you or fill in a form, make
it easy for them to do so. Clearly labelled buttons and active language can help you to do this.

Sounds like too much effort?

If these steps seem like a lot to get your head around, we're here to help. Our digital marketing service can cover all of these steps and a lot more. Our combination of in-depth technical SEO knowledge and user focus helps businesses of all sizes to get
results. If you'd like to learn more about how we can deliver real ROI by improving the SEO of your existing website, contact the Urban Element team today.

As our Digital Content Strategist, Luke works with UE clients to understand how the content of their site can support their businesses. Working closely with the Core Business Team, Luke develops content briefs and style guides to ensure that copy is effective and consistent. In writing engaging, persuasive and user friendly website copy, Luke helps organisations to meet their objectives by encouraging conversions.